Lights for illuminating large areas such as roads, parking lots, fields, and the like have long been provided. Lighting technology for such lights has progressed from incandescent to specialized high powered types such as sodium vapor and mercury vapor. However, it has become desirable to utilize more efficient light sources, as efficiency relates to units of light output per unit of electrical input.
Light emitting diodes (hereinafter LEDs) are among the most efficient types of light sources commercially available today. LEDs enjoy not only relatively high efficiency, but offer long life and relatively uncomplicated construction. LEDs have progressed to the point where white light producing LEDs could be employed in many applications.
Luminaires are typically produced in models each of which is designed to provide a predetermined amount of light, to have a specific predetermined construction or design, to project light in a predetermined pattern and in a predetermined quantity. Therefore, many different models must be made available so that the most suitable design may be selected for any given application. This leads to the situation that many different models must be designed, produced, and stocked, and replacement parts be made available for each model. While this situation offers great versatility in providing varieties of luminaires, such convenience comes at economic cost.
It would be desirable to offer different models having diverse outputs while minimizing the cost of luminaires of each model or capacity.
A need exists for mass producing high intensity flood lamps using white LEDs in many light output capacities, so that individual luminaires employing LEDs may compete with established high intensity luminaires.